


Regulations

by sidium



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-07
Updated: 2013-09-07
Packaged: 2017-12-25 22:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/958215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidium/pseuds/sidium
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve's been in the Army, he understands fraternization regulations; which is why he doesn't understand this thing between his team-mates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Regulations

**Author's Note:**

> If you've read my other stories, you're probably wondering why I'm publishing this when I said I wasn't writing for a while. This story was already finished and only needed light editing.

It was a quiet debriefing. There were no more robot whatever-the-hell-those-things-were trolling through New York, destroying select parts of the city. Casualties were at an impressive low, and everyone was alive. Exhausted, and maybe more than just a little sore, but alive. They sat around the debriefing table and went over exactly what happened. Or, more realistically, Steve explained to Fury everything that happened, while every so often, someone would fill in a tiny gap or make a minute correction. He didn’t mind being the sole narrator. He took it as part of the leader role and went with it. 

“Good enough for me.” Fury stated, finally, letting them all groan in relief. “You are all free to go.” He said, waving his hand dismissively, as though releasing small children. 

Everyone slowly stands, making their way to the elevator, and Steve watches as Natasha slowly steps over to Clint, who’s asleep with his head resting on his arms. She leans close and whispers something in Russian, shaking him slightly. He jarrs awake, quickly glancing around to gain his bearing again, alert and ready as though still in the fight. He relaxes when he sees there’s no danger, and stands to follow them all to the elevator. Steve notices the careful distance between Natasha and Clint, as they all file down to the elevators,and finally start making their way back home. 

It’s an odd thing to notice, but he can’t help it, and there’s a reason. Despite being exhausted, Clint and Natasha stuck to their routine. Vigilant to keep a respectable distance between one another. They don’t speak much, except what they need to and very little else. They rarely tease one another or crack jokes with each other. They are exceptionally professional colleagues and for a long time, Steve thought that was all they were. Until they moved into the Tower. 

The car ride home seems infinitely longer than normal, and Steve’s almost convinced himself they’re stuck in some kind of Loki-zone, where everything’s messed up and they’ll never get home. Just before he starts to become convinced enough to say something, they’re home. And here’s where it changes, every time. 

As soon as everyone gets on the elevator to start being deposited on their floors, Clint moves and pulls Natasha close. A move that would surely get anyone else killed or, at the very least, disfigured.. Instead, she goes with it, allowing him to put an arm around her and lay a kiss to her temple as she rests her head on his shoulder. It’s so easy, Steve knows they must’ve done it a million times before. And that’s what catches his attention. Their casual, intimate affection with one another. 

No one else even pays attention, or give them a second glance. Bruce has propped himself up against the wall and looks asleep already. Thor is inspecting a large scrape on his arm that’s almost completely healed already; and Tony’s tapping away at the tablet in his hand, completely unfazed by the black eye he has or the muscles Steve knows must be aching.

They drop Thor off on his floor, and Bruce on his, despite Tony’s protests of needing Bruce in the lab. Steve notices when they pass Natasha’s floor without so much as a comment, and both Clint and Natasha step off the elevator together on Clint’s floor with a mock-salute from him and a small wave from her. 

\-----

It was the next night, group movie night on Thor’s floor when Steve finally mentioned it to someone else. He and Bruce in the kitchen, while Clint, Natasha and Thor sat in the living room; all of them waiting for Tony to finally disengage himself from his latest project in the lab and join them. 

“JARVIS,” Steve asks, glancing at the ceiling, “How much longer does Tony have before we have to go down and get him ourselves?” 

“Sir has approximately ten minutes before he is considered late. He is finishing up and should be leaving the lab momentarily.” JARVIS answered promptly. 

“Great. Give him another warning from us that we have no qualms about starting the movie without him, again.” Steve says, glancing at Bruce and grinning. Bruce just grins back and goes back to tapping on his phone in boredom. 

Steve glances into the living room, Thor sprawled out in the armchair, in normal Earthling civilian clothes and yet still looking every bit the noble he is. While Natasha is sitting with her legs thrown over Clint’s lap, and his hands massaging her thighs as they all watch some trashy reality program and they wait for their teammate. 

“Can I ask you something?” Steve says to Bruce, quietly. Bruce raises his head and nods.

“Sure.”

“I thought SHIELD had regulations against agents fraternizing with one another.” Steve says, more than a little confused, but not wanting to sound judgmental. He’s not trying to accuse anyone of anything, he just wants an explanation.

“They do. I think it’s something like, if two agents get caught in a relationship of any kind, they’re basically separated to every extent they can be. They don’t go on mission together, aren’t at the same base at the same time, I think even the other’s general location is kept away from them.”

“Then…” Steve jerks his head towards the living room and raises an eyebrow. “I don’t get it.” 

Bruce grins and Steve knows Bruce knows what he means, but he asks anyway. “Don’t get what?”

“Clint and Nat. Aren’t they breaking regulations?”

“Yeah.”

“But it’s not allowed.” He says, still mildly confused.

“No, it’s not.” 

Steve furrows his eyebrows. Bruce sighs and puts his phone down. 

“Steve, why do they have those rules?” He asks rationally, as folds his arms across his chest.

“What?” Steve asks, dumbly.

“What is the purpose behind separating agents who fraternize?” Bruce asks, patiently. 

“It’s... to keep their judgment from being impaired and putting themselves in unnecessary risk for the other.” He answers, pretty confident he’s right. “Isn’t it?”

“Exactly. Now let’s say Clint and Nat didn’t technically fraternize and they followed SHIELD rules to the letter. Would their judgment towards each other be any less impaired?”

“Well, no. They’d still care about each other.” Steve says, not sure where this line of reasoning is going.

“Do you think their performance in the field would improve if we took the other out of the equation?” 

“God, no. Might get worse.” Steve says. 

“Back at SHIELD, you ever notice how they don’t ‘fraternize’ at all? In fact, in front of Fury and the others, if you didn’t know better, you’d swear it’s almost as though they barely like one another at all?” 

“They’re hiding it.” Steve says, suddenly. 

“Here, they don’t have to worry about other agents, or cameras catching them. They can act however they want to act. They know they’re breaking the rules.” 

“But they’re doing it all in front of us, though.” Steve says.

“I don’t think we count to them. I think they’ve decided we’re worth trusting.”

“That’s a pretty risky thing to do, isn’t it?” Suddenly realizing how much trust the two agents in the living are putting into everyone else.

“Steve, look at them.” 

Steve glances back into the living room where Natasha has moved so her head is on Clint’s shoulder and his hand is carding slowly through her hair. They look content and happy, and Steve feels a twinge of something like envy deep down.

“You want to be the one to tell them they’ll never get to see each other again?”

Steve gives a startled laugh at the absurdity of it, and has to bite it back not to attract attention. “Good point.”

“They’re happy. And they’re trusting us that we’ll leave them be.” 

Steve could feel a swell of pride and affection for both of them rise up in his chest, that they would trust their team with something so important. “That’s kind of amazing.” He says faintly. 

“What they have is kind of amazing.” Bruce says, picking his phone back up. “So yeah, they’re breaking regulations. I don’t think anyone who knows really cares about that.” 

Before Steve could say anything else, Tony stepped into the kitchen. Wiping his hands dry with a rag. “And how are my little rug-rats doing?” 

“Waiting for you, Dr. Jekyll.” Steve shoots back, snapping his thoughts off of Natasha and Clint. 

“Well, I’m here, let’s get this show on the road.” He says, swatting Steve on the back of the head as he heads to the living room. Bruce gestures at Steve to follow Tony as he starts the popcorn in the microwave.

“And how are the lovebirds this evening?” Tony teases as he flops down on the sofa next to Clint and Natasha. 

“Poshol nahuj, suka.” Natasha says smoothly, not even looking away from the screen, and Clint smiles at her, the only one in the room who understood her. Steve smirks as he sits down on the floor and leans back against Thor’s chair. 

“Oh, profanity?” Tony guesses, voice laced with good-natured sarcasm, “That’s attractive. You’re a lucky man, Barton.” 

Steve doesn’t miss the way Clint’s fingers tighten ever so slightly on Natasha calf, and his eyes flicker towards her face. “Yeah, I am, actually.”


End file.
